The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1887-10-22

city, where he thought he could be
sure of comparative quiet. He found
a comfortable place close by a grave
yard, with not many houses about
him, and settled down. The first
night he spent in the new place was
a terrible revelation to him. In
stead of the absolute quiet surround
ings of his island home he had an
atmosphere vocal with the yells of
what seemed a thousand cats. The
neighborhood must have been, he
was convinced, a favorite resort for
all the cats in the city. They rem
dezvoused in the graveyard and
focked on his back fence and perch
ed on his shed roof and caterwauled
madly all night long. He slept
scarcely five minutes at a time. The
next night the same performance
was repeated, and the next. Instead
of getting used to it the Commodore
was getting more and more nervous
and slept less and les The wear
and the tear began to tell on him.
Vanderbilt had his boots blacked
every morning by lad who had
stationed his box not far away,
making an arrangement with the
boy in order to get the shine reason
ably cheap. One morning he sat
down in the boys chair with such a
weary air and with SO haggard a
look on his face that the boy asked
sympathetically:
"Wot's de matter customer?'
The Commodore, for want of a
better confdant, opened his heart
to the bootblack and told him the
narrowing tale of the cats.
"Wot'll you give me boss" said
the boy, off III clean out all de cats
for you ?"
What'll l give you? "Why, I'll
give you a dollar apiece for every
cat you kill in my yard" said the
Commodore.
"All right customer" said the
bootblack, "I1l be there tonight"
That night the Commodore slept
as he had not slept since he left
Staten Island. He woke in the
morning with the delightful sense of
having slept only fifteen minutes,
and yet knowing that he had slept
soundly all night. When he went
out he found his bootblack sitting
on the top step.
How'd ye sleep, boss?" asked the
boy.
"splendidly, young man, splendid
iy."
"Hear any cats ?"
"Not cat. How much do I owe
your"
"Come round in the back yard an
we'll see" said the boy.
They went around to the back
yard. There two rough-looking
youngsters sitting on the fence, and
On the ground was pile of dead
eats that made the Commodore turn
pale.
For heavens sake how many
'ats have you got there ," he gasped.
Wen throw them over in an
pthfr pile boss said the bootblack,
an you can score 'em up"
The boy began to toss the cats
over deliberately, and the Commo-
lore counted until he had got up to
FIFTY Then he called out: "Hold
on Thatl do. See here; I'll give
you three fellows just So apiece.
That's big pay for q nights work"
Cant 90 it boss" said the boot
black. "I've made de arrangement
wild desc gentlemen here, an de un-
derstanding is 81 apiece for de cats"
"Well, won't give you but s5
each all aronnd," said the Commo-
dore.
He pulled out the money and
shook it in their faces, but'the boys
refused to take it. Finally they
withdrew in silence, leaving the
Commodore aroused and ill-natured,
with his cats. They formed re-
solve to get even with him." and
made their plans accordingly.
That night the Commodore had
not been asleep very long before he
was reused by the most unearthly
caterw auling that he had ever heard
in his life. He woke with the i'm
preston that there was stack of
cats on the foot of his bed. Then
he fancied they were at least on the
window sill of his room. But pre-
sently be became aware that they
were somewhere in the yard near
his window. He could stand it
no longer, and seized a loaded pistol
that was in bureau drawer and
blazed away, one, two, three shots,
at what seemed to be the centre of